- Joined
- Nov 27, 2012
- Messages
- 7,912
I thought we had a tips & tricks section but I guess not so here it goes.
We all know wedges are the most common way for removing drill chuck arbors. But they aren't always successful & for certain arbor sizes they won't work at all. Other solutions are to make your own for sizes not covered, machine a groove(s) so they will fit, drill a cross hole & use a pin, cut most of the arbor off then drill out the rest, etc. And personally I don't like to use wedges sometimes cause it marrs the drill chuck and/or arbor. Most people probably don't care but I do.
I've talked about the method I use here in the past but don't think I ever took photos. For stubborn arbors that you don't care to reuse (although you could) drill & tap a hole on the end. Make a sleeve to fit over the arbor that's longer than the arbor (or you can use spacers). Use a washer & bolt to pull the arbor out. I resort to this method for stubborn arbors that don't want to come off. It has never failed me yet & they always come off without any struggle. Most arbors are only case hardened if at all so drilling & tapping should be doable as long as you don't get too close to the OD. This method requires you to cut the tang off MT arbors so take that into consideration.
Here's a test arbor that I use when rebuilding my 14N chucks. It's a 3/4" shank straight arbor with a 7/16"-20 tapped hole on the end. Thread size don't matter all that much as long as it strong enough, obviously don't go try using a 10-32 or something like that. I just chose that size so I could use the same bolt that I use when removing R8 arbors (drawbar size). Sleeve is just aluminium.
Example of a MT3 arbor that I changed recently (due to stupidity). Keyed chucks (keyed only, not keyless!) you can usually drill a hole through the center of the body if it doesn't already have one & use a punch to drive out the arbor (can also thread this hole a use a screw to push out the arbor, although I've never tried). This one hasn't came off in a while & was stubborn, a punch wouldn't drive it out even with heating the body & flash freezing the arbor. I already have the tangs cut off on my drill chuck arbors for my lathe anyway. Tapped a hole, yadda yadda yadda...
You get the idea but one more for the heck of it. R8 arbor. Already has a threaded hole for the drawbar & again I don't prefer to use wedges when possible to avoid marring. I really should make a sleeve for my R8 arbors someday but I always have enough spacers laying around for the arbor press.
Hope this helps anyone someday from having to do a bunch of cursing & making holes in the wall from tools thrown across the shop.
We all know wedges are the most common way for removing drill chuck arbors. But they aren't always successful & for certain arbor sizes they won't work at all. Other solutions are to make your own for sizes not covered, machine a groove(s) so they will fit, drill a cross hole & use a pin, cut most of the arbor off then drill out the rest, etc. And personally I don't like to use wedges sometimes cause it marrs the drill chuck and/or arbor. Most people probably don't care but I do.
I've talked about the method I use here in the past but don't think I ever took photos. For stubborn arbors that you don't care to reuse (although you could) drill & tap a hole on the end. Make a sleeve to fit over the arbor that's longer than the arbor (or you can use spacers). Use a washer & bolt to pull the arbor out. I resort to this method for stubborn arbors that don't want to come off. It has never failed me yet & they always come off without any struggle. Most arbors are only case hardened if at all so drilling & tapping should be doable as long as you don't get too close to the OD. This method requires you to cut the tang off MT arbors so take that into consideration.
Here's a test arbor that I use when rebuilding my 14N chucks. It's a 3/4" shank straight arbor with a 7/16"-20 tapped hole on the end. Thread size don't matter all that much as long as it strong enough, obviously don't go try using a 10-32 or something like that. I just chose that size so I could use the same bolt that I use when removing R8 arbors (drawbar size). Sleeve is just aluminium.
Example of a MT3 arbor that I changed recently (due to stupidity). Keyed chucks (keyed only, not keyless!) you can usually drill a hole through the center of the body if it doesn't already have one & use a punch to drive out the arbor (can also thread this hole a use a screw to push out the arbor, although I've never tried). This one hasn't came off in a while & was stubborn, a punch wouldn't drive it out even with heating the body & flash freezing the arbor. I already have the tangs cut off on my drill chuck arbors for my lathe anyway. Tapped a hole, yadda yadda yadda...
You get the idea but one more for the heck of it. R8 arbor. Already has a threaded hole for the drawbar & again I don't prefer to use wedges when possible to avoid marring. I really should make a sleeve for my R8 arbors someday but I always have enough spacers laying around for the arbor press.
Hope this helps anyone someday from having to do a bunch of cursing & making holes in the wall from tools thrown across the shop.
